Flushing bevice



C'. W. DARROW.

FLUSHING DEVICE.

APPLICATioN FlLED DEMI. 19.5.

Patent-ed Aug. 1 5-, 1916.

d mnu, w.

CHARLES W. DARROW, OF GLENVIOOD SPRINGS, COLORADO.

FLUSI-IING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 15, 1916.

Application led December 17, 1915. Serial N o. 67,386.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES WV. DARRow, a citizen of the United States, residing at Glenwood Springs, county of Gariield, and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flushing Devices; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains kto make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in devices Jfor flushing water closets direct from the supply without the aid of the ordinary flush tank reservoir or air compression tank,

and my object is to provide a device of this character which is simple in construction, compact, durable, easily regulated, noiseless in operation, and one that can be taken apart without materially disarranging the plumbing.

Another object of my invention is to so construct a device that it will be practically impossible for the user to throw the mechanism out of adjustment by injuring or bending the exterior parts whether the valve is operated by hand or by the foot, and with this end in view I equip the packing nut with a relatively high sleeve into which a depending projection formed upon the button or knob and which receives the upper extremity of the push rod, normally extends. This construction also protects and reinforces the said push rod and a spiral spring which I employ, said spring surrounding said depending projection and a portion ol the push rod, and being supported within the sleeve oi the packing nut. The sleeve, depending projection, and spiral spring coperate to maintain the push rod in its proper alinement and protect the samev from injury.

A further object of my invention is -to provide a cup shaped chamber above the casing to catch any leakage which may result from the operation of the'apparatus.

Having briefly outlined my improved construction, I will proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, in which is illustrated an embodiment thereof.

In this drawing, Figure 1 is a central vertical section taken through my improved flushing device, showing the valve mechanism seated. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the valve mechanism unseated, that is to say, with both the main valve and the auxiliary valve in the unseated position.

Fig. 3 is an underneath detail view of the knob or cap. Fig. 4: is a top view of the combined stop and packing nut, adapted to engage the'lower extremity of the main valve-controlling spring. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the spiral spring which I employ.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the views.

Let the numeral 5 designate a shell or casing which is closed at one end by a screw cap G and which end, for the purposes of this description, will be regarded as lowermost. This casing has a water chamber 7 provided with an inlet branch 8 and an outlet branch 9 preferably arranged on opposite sides of the casing. This arrangement however, maybe varied without interfering with the principle of operation or dei tracting from the eciency of the mechanism. The casing is provided with an inner wall 10 which is in eil'ect an interior prolongation of the outlet branch 9. In the lower or horizontal portion 11 of this wall, is formed a port l2, through the instrumentality of which communication is established between the inlet and outlet branches of the casing, the said port being located in the axial center of said casing. V

IIhe numeral 13 designates a balance valve which is disk-shaped and composed entirely of metal or other suitable material, its seat 14 being formed around the opening 12 in the wall 11, the said seat being beveled to correspond with the inclined or beveled part l5 of the main valve. Hence, when seated, the valve is located between the inlet 8 and the portion of the water chamber' beneath the valve, the said valve being subjected to water pressure on both sides whether seated or unseated. From the beveled portion from the screw cap 6. The object of this rations 1S.

cylindrical projection is to throttle the flow of water through the opening 12 just before the main valve reaches its seat. From this extension or prolongation 16 'sleeve 17 extends upwardly and is provided with perfo- The upper extremity of this sleeve is enlarged to form a head 19, which is designed to fit snugly into a recess 20 formed in the top of the casing to olivi-ate any jar incident toclosing.

A kpassage-way is established between the water chamber and the outlet through the perforated sleeve and the opening at the bottom of the latter. A push rod 21 extends longitudinally through vthe sleeve, a cap or knob Q2 being applied to its outer extremity and an auxiliary valve Q3 being formed at its inner extremity. This auxiliary valve is beveled to iit a seat 24 formed around the opening at the'lower extremity of the perforated sleeve. A cup or cage 26 having its upper portion exteriorly threaded is screwed into the opening formed in the main valve below the seat 24, t-he wall of said opening being threaded for this purpose. 4This cage is' provided-with a series of ports 27 which establish communication between the water chamber below the disk valve and the outlet in the casing when the auxiliary valve is unseated, this communication being by way of the ports'Q, the opening through the sleeve 17, and the perforations 18 in said sleeve. The opening 28 through the inlet branch 8 of the casing is of considerably less cross sectional area than either the outlet opening or the port 12 which is controlled by the main valve as aforesaid. By reason of this fact the water passes noiselessly through the apparatus and prevents clogging.

Y The upper extremity of the casing is exteriorly provided with a reduced part 29 having Van opening 30 through which the push rod 21 passes, the upper extremity of this part 29 being provided with a stuffing box 31 including a packing nut 32 whose upper face is chambercd or cupped as shown at 33 to form a seat for the lower extremity of a spiral spring 34e, the walls of said chamber being extended upwardly to form a relatively long sleeve 35. T he upper extremity Y of the spiral spring 34 act-s upon the cap or knob :22, the lower face of the latter being provided with a series of'recesses 36, each of which is adapted to receive a vertically disposed projection 37 which constitutes said upper extremity of the spring 34. This spring normally holds both the main and auxiliary valves against their seats. The knob or cap is also provided with a relativelyV long depending part 3S interiorly recessed, the walls of said recess being threaded to receive the upper threaded end 39 of the-push rod, the said part 3S normally projecting downwardly within the spiral spring into the Sleeve 35. By virtue of this construction the push rod will always be held in alinement, and it will be practically impossible to bend the latter even if the pressure applied to the knob is not exerted in a vertical direction, which would very likely be the case if the device were operated by the foot. Furthermore, the sleeve 35 will not only protect the push rod and a portion of the spiral spring from damage or injury but the chamber formed within the same will catch any leakage which may result from the operation of the device. Also by reason of the connection between the upper extremity of the spring 34; and the knob 22, it becomes impossible to turn the cap upon the stem for regulating or changing the compression of the spring 34, and impossible for the upper extremity of the spring to become disengaged from its corresponding recess, since the lower end 40 of the spring is correspondingly shaped and engages a recess 41 extending below the bottom of the cavity 33 of the packing nut 32, constituting a part of the stuffing box 31, as heretofore explained. This construction provides against changing the adjustment of the parts after they have been properly arranged to best perform the desired function. However, if it becomes necessary to change such adjustment or increase or diminish the compression of the spring 34, the upper portion of the latter may be pressed downwardly by the hand of the operator a suiicient distance to disengage the extremity 37 from its recess 36 in the knob, after which the latter may be turned upon the threaded extremity of the push rod either downwardly or upwardly according as it may be necessary to increase or diminish the compression of the spring 34, whose recoil acts to return the-main valve to its scat, as heretofore explained.

In the horizontally disposed portion of the main valve is formed a relatively small perforation or weep-hole 42 which preferably increases in size from its upper ex-V tremity downwardly, in order to prevent the clogging of the same. After the main .valve is unseated, the time required for it to return to its seat is regulatedby the flow of water through this perforation, and the flow of water around the periphery of the main valve and by means of the recoil force of the spring 3i acting against the knob 22, the force of said spring capable of being regulated as hereinbefore explained.

From the foregoing description, the use and operation of my improved iushing device will be readily understood. lVhen it is desired to unseat the main valve for flushing purposes, the operator, when the apparatus is in an upright position, will press downwardly on the knob 22. The iirst result of this downward pressure is to unseat the auxiliary valve 23, whereby communication is established between the water cham-l ber below the main valve and the casing outlet, through the medium of the perforations QT, the passage through the sleeve 17, and the pei-iterations 18 in the said sleeve. But

C little pressure is required to unseat the auxiliary valve, and after this is unseated and the aforesaid communication is established, the said auxiliary valve will engage the bottom ot the cage 2.6 and the main valve will move readily downward in response to the continued pressure on the knob until the main valve assumes its lowerinost position, or that illustrated in Fig. 2. As soon as the main valve is unseated, the water passes freely from the inlet to the outlet olE the casing for `iushing purposes, and this flow of water continues until the main valve returns to its seat under the influence or i'ecoil action of the spring 3l which will also return the auxiliary valve to its seat, the

said spring being strong enough for both purposes. ri"he upward movement of .the main valve, however, will be retarded owing to the relatively small water passage alfort ed by the perforation 42, and that passing between the periphery of the mam valve and the inner surface of the barrel casing.

lla ving thus described my invention, what l claim is,- l

l. flushing device including a casing, a packing nut mounted upon said casing and provided with an upwardly extending sleeve, a main valve located in the casing and having a push rod projecting through the casing, packing nut and sleeve of the latter and having its upper extremity threaded, a knob provided with a depending projection interior-ly recessed, the walls olrsaid recess being threaded to receive the upper extremity ot' the push. rod, said projection normally extending `into the sleeve of the packing nut, and a spiral spring surrounding said projection and push rod, its lov-.er extremity engaging in a recess in the base or the chamber t'ornied by said sleeve and its upper extremity adapted to engage i any one oi a series of recesses in the said knob. for the purpose set forth.

A flushing device' comprising a casing having a water chamber, an inlet, an outlet, the device having a port intermediate the inlet and outlet, a main valve for closing said port, said valve being in the form of a disk having a central opening forming conimifnication between the inlet and outlet of the chamber, a packing nut mounted upon the easing and provided with an upwardly r-.xiiending sleeve, a push rod extending into the casing through said sleeve and an opening' in said nut and also projecting above the sleeve, the push rod having a valve upon its inner extremity formed integral therewith and adapted to normally close the,

opening in the main valve, a knob having a depending projection provided with a threaded recess to receive the exposed` extremity of the push rod, said projection normally extending slightly into the said sleeve, a spiral spring surrounding the projection and push rod, its lower extremity entering a recess in the base of the chamber formed by the sleeve and its upper extremity adapted to engage in any one of a series of recesscs formed in the knob, said spring normally acting through the auxiliary valve to return said auxiliary and main valves to their seats.

3. A flushing device comprising a casing having a water chamber, an inlet, an outlet, the device having a port intermediate the inlet and outlet, a main valve for closing said port, said valve being in the form of a disk having a central opening forming communication between the inlet and outlet of the chamber, a perforated cup inserted in said disk directly below said opening, a packing nut mounted upon the casing and provided with an upwardly extending sleeve, a push rod extending into the casing through said sleeve and an opening in said nut and also projecting above the sleeve, the push rod having a valve upon its inner extremity formed integral therewith and adapted to normally close the opening in the main valve, a knob having a depending projection provided with a threaded recess to receive the exposed extremity of the push rod, said projection normally extending slightly into the said sleeve, a spiral spring surrounding the projection and push rod, its lower extremity entering a recess in the base of the chamber formed by the sleeve and its upper extremity adapted to engage in any one of a series of recesses formed in the knob whereby the latter is locked against change of adjustment, said spring normally acting through the auxiliary valve to return said auxiliary and main valves to their seats.

4. A flushing device comprising a casing having a wate chamber provided with an inlet, an outlet, and an intermediate port, a main valve for closing said port, said valve being in the form of a disk having a central opening forming communication between the inlet and outlet of the chamber independently of thev said port, a push rod extending into the casing and projecting beyond the same, a valve applied to its inner extremity and adapted to close the opening in the main valve, a knob threaded on the exposed extremity of the push rod, a spiral spring surrounding the rod on the outside of the casing and normally acting through the auxiliary valve to return said auxiliary valve and the main valve to their seats, and hold the same in said position, the knob having a series of 'openings into any one of which the upper extremity of the spring may extend, the bearing which the change of adjustment, substantially as delower extremity of the spring` engages be- In testimony whereof I afX my signamg provided with a single recess adapted ture, 1n presence of two Witnesses.

to receive the adjacent extremity of the CHARLES YV. DARROVV.

spring, whereby the knob is locked against Witnesses:

SADIE KORN,

scribed. CHAs. E. HUGHES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patenti, Washington, D. C. 

